Cool roof technology is known to reduce the cooling energy consumption of conditioned buildings during hot periods, and widespread implementation of such roofs in a neighbourhood or precinct can mitigate the urban heat island effect.

This study analysed over 1.8 million measurements of air conditioner power consumption and indoor/outdoor air temperatures in 129 houses in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne from 2012 to 2014. It was found that the preferred indoor air temperature range, at which occupants are most unlikely to operate air conditioners, increases for warmer local climates.

With urban infrastructure in urgent need of revitalization, it’s time for new thinking about how the civic realm can better serve public needs and meet environmental goals. Chinatown Green Street, in downtown Washington, D.C., is a unique demonstration project that on one city block combines advanced “green,” “complete,” and “smart” street concepts.

Buildings and the atmosphere are intrinsically connected via cooling and heating systems. Global climate is projected to grow warmer, while an increasing fraction of the population living in urban centers. This introduces the challenge for new approaches to project future energy demand changes in cities.

This report is part of Task within the California Energy Commission CEC EP C project EPC‐14‐ 009 Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort managed through the Center for the Built Environment at UC Berkeley The main goal of this research was to determine the building characteristics of projects with radiant heating and cooling and assess their real world energy use compared t

Radiant cooling and heating has the potential for improved energy efficiency, demand response, comfort, indoor environmental quality, and architectural design. Many radiant buildings have demonstrated outstanding performance in these regards, and application of the technology in commercial buildings is expanding.

Greenhouse gas emissions urgently need to be reduced. Even with a step up in mitigation, the goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 °C remains challenging. Consequences of missing these goals are substantial, especially on regional scales. Because progress in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions has been slow, climate engineering schemes are increasingly being discussed.

One of the major obstacles to improving solar thermal cooling technologies is the high operating temperature requirements of most solar thermal cooling systems. This paper reviews recent advances that could reduce the required heat source temperatures for solar desiccant cooling to the range of 50°C–60°C. These approaches include (i) isothermal dehumidification (e.g.

This paper demonstrates that the integration of passive features during the design/construction of sustainable buildings requires thorough modelling at the design stage as some features may have unintended consequences resulting in occupant dissatisfaction, and resulting in the building using more energy to maintain comfort.